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UFC 249 made history tonight in Florida as the first major sport to stick it to COVID 19 and continue to entertain a loyal fan base. They held a no crowd show and it was great. Here are the results along with our hot takes.
Vicente Luque defeats Niko Price by doctor stoppage
It was a great fight to get things going on ESPN as well as a good stoppage by the doctor. Price was busted wide open like a Watermelon. Vicente Luque will continue to get big fights if he keeps this up.
Carla Esparza wins over Michelle Waterson by split decision.
I’ve been watching this sport since day one and will never be able to explain how one judge can score a fight 30-27, and another can score 30-27 for the other fighter. That exact thing happened here however I do agree with the decision for Esparza. I had it 29-28 for her.
It will be interesting to see where Michelle Waterson goes from here after a second straight loss. She can’t seem to win the big ones. Congrats to Carla for a very big win!
Aleksei Oleinik beats Fabricio Werdum by split decision
The days of Wedum being a headliner appear to be over. He looked slow, rusty and old tonight and Olienik stood up to every shot thrown by the former world champion. I’m not sure Oleinik will ever contend for a title, but this will be a nice win to have on his final resume.
Anthony Pettis defeats Donald Cerrone by decision
It wasn’t a five-star classic and both guys have most likely seen their last PPV Main event for a very long time, if ever again. However, that being said, Pettis looked better tonight then he has in a while. If he can stay focused, he can put together a nice little run.
Greg Hardy wins a snoozefest over Yorgan de Castro
It was Yorgan de Castro looking good early, but once he broke his toe on a checked kick, that was it for his night. Hardy spent the rest of the fight jabbing at will and taking little to no damage. Hardy may have knocked out some tomato cans, but since has done very little to impress.
Calvin Kattar stops Jeremey Stephens in the second round by elbows.
Kattar left Stephens a bloody mess and has earned more fights on the main card moving forward. Kattar is now a winner in 11 of his last 13 fights and should be taken very seriously. He has knockout power and the aggressive style you want to see in big fights. Stephens continues to be just a step behind.
Francis Ngannou knocks out Jairzinho Rozenstruik in 20 seconds.
Listen, Francis Ngannou may be the scariest human being on Earth. He barely has to touch someone and they are going out. His last four fights have lasted a total of 3 minutes and two seconds. All four ended in vicious KO’s of JDS, Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes and now Rozenstruik. This only leads me to ask the question, how good does that make Stipe Miocic? Answer, pretty damn good!
Henry CeJudo retains his UFC Bantamweight Championship with a referee stoppage win over Dominick Cruz at the 4:58 mark of the second round.
Cejudo is one of the best in the business and he showed it tonight as he took apart Cruz with very little issue. Cejudo had the leg kick anytime he wanted it and Cruz had no answers. Cruz would go on to protest the stoppage and even the announce team did. I don’t understand it, the ref stepped in perfectly as Cejudo was beginning to tee off on a downed fighter. That screams stoppage.
During the fight I started thinking to myself Cejudo would be great in the WWE one day. He is a former Gold Medalist, a two-time UFC Champ, he just screams money and would take to pro wrestling with ease. Then he goes ahead and shockingly retires after the fight. So maybe the WWE really is in his future?
Justin Gaethje bloodies Tony Ferguson to win the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship
Gaethje beat Ferguson so badly that if this happened outside of the cage, they would send him to prison for attempted murder. Ferguson may be the toughest if not craziest fighter on the planet. Tonight, is the best Gaethje has ever looked as he was calm, didn’t rush in, and just picked apart Ferguson with one heavy bomb after another.
A couple minutes into the fifth round, referee Herb Dean had finally seen enough and mercifully stopped the bout. Up until tonight I didn’t think a man alive could topple Khabib, but Justin Gaethje may have shown the blue print for that.
One has to wonder why Ferguson didn’t try to get it to the ground. He had no chance at winning a fight standing up and that became clear tonight.
GEORGES “RUSH” ST-PIERRE NAMED TO UFC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2020
